Fuji X-T4

[keessie65]

2 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Ok let's not flood yet another thread with dodgy YouTube tests

waiting for yours of course 😉

 

[Andrew Reid]

I am waiting for yours too! 😀

[FS670ES]

On 5/9/2020 at 1:40 AM, Andrew Reid said:

That's a pretty interesting finding.

The NX1 is way smoother.

I just don't get it why Fuji still didn't fix that horrible exposure stepping. It's not a deal breaker but when I want to shoot for fun during my holiday with family it would be useful to have good working auto iso without those steps in exposure. I also see some AF pulsing in some tests like in Panasonic system. Even with lens such as 16-55 f2.8 and I am wondering how is that possible.

[thebrothersthre3]

7 minutes ago, FS670ES said:

I just don't get it why Fuji still didn't fix that horrible exposure stepping. It's not a deal breaker but when I want to shoot for fun during my holiday with family it would be useful to have good working auto iso without those steps in exposure. I also see some AF pulsing in some tests like in Panasonic system. Even with lens such as 16-55 f2.8 and I am wondering how is that possible.

Yeah auto focus has to be fine tuned to minimize pulsing. Fuji really needs to get a handle on it though, its not the lenses fault. 

[Andrew Reid]

The trick is to lock your exposure at the start of each shot. Even smooth changes are un-cinematic, in my opinion.

But yes Fuji should definitely fix this!

I shoot in A priority a lot, and use Auto ISO a lot. I don't want it to change in the middle of a shot, but if it does, it shouldn't ramp from 400 to 800 in one frame!!

[thebrothersthre3]

I really can't wrap my head around why they haven't fixed the exposure issue. Is it that difficult. 

[Andrew Reid]

Exposure issues

IBIS issues

Anyone would think the X-T4 is completely broken.

I think we need to point the thread in a more positive direction. These are very minor issues. Let's let Fuji know, but let's not dwell on it for page after page. It is a bit uninspired.

[Kisaha]

On 5/8/2020 at 3:19 PM, keessie65 said:

Enna is stil using NX1. I watch his films often while I also had that great Samsung camera. Now he is testing both, X-T4 and NX1. ISO jump.

I follow Enna's videos for a lot of years now. He is a very nice and very practical Korean and explains everything with really simple videos.

For whoever didn't notice, the first issue of the Fuji is a lens issue (it explains on the video, there are ENG subtitles), so it can not be fixed. As you zoom in/out it changes the apperture mechanism with very steep steps.

Fuji needs to improve their lens desing, because they were build mostly for photography. Their faster primes are getting a bit old in the AF department also..

Small things like these kept me on the NX side before, and I probably will just skip the Fuji alltogether now.. I am not changing systems every 2-3 years..

[Carz]

There are some rumors that fuji is releasing mkii lenses within the next year. So lets hope these are much more useful for video.

[Andrew Reid]

I would like them to release a wooden grip for my X-T4.

The skimpy grip it has is dreadful!

[Andrew Reid]

Just needs a wooden grip like my other Fujis.

Apart from that, camera is looking good... IBIS is fantastic.

[androidlad]

 

[MrSMW]

On 5/11/2020 at 4:10 PM, Carz said:

There are some rumors that fuji is releasing mkii lenses within the next year. So lets hope these are much more useful for video.

Indeed. For me, Fuji native lenses are it’s weakest area for video, especially in regard to AF.

The older f1.4 and 1.2 have a great look, but are otherwise terrible to use.

The newer f2 primes pulse.

The 18-55 and 16-55 zooms are possibly still the best, but I have found that adapting Tamron or Sigma (primes and zoom) with the Fringer adapter are nicer.

Sigma 18-35 f1.8 made for me a pretty nifty twin prime set up equivalent to approx 30-60mm lens using 4K 50p and the Tamron 45mm  f1.8 around 80mm equiv.

I also have and quite like Fuji’s own 16-80, but it’s f4 and a bit slow for me and is not great in low light being almost 3 stops slower than those 1.8’s.

The new Viltrox’s look interesting, but very sloppy aperture rings so for me, just no.

Tokina however are launching their own versions later this year which hopefully will address that issue and have even better build and finish.

I hate a sloppy aperture ring.

Sigma’s 16, 30 and 56mm f1.4’s look pretty decent but I am going to wait and see if the wedding industry revives itself first!

High hopes for the Fuji 50mm f1. With apsc crop and 4K 50p crop applied, it’s a tad long for indoor use for me, but if it’s good for video...

[heart0less]

10 hours ago, MrSMW said:

The new Viltrox’s look interesting, but very sloppy aperture rings so for me, just no.

Not only that - supposedly they can cause some damage to X-Pro3.

Here is an official statement published by Viltrox:

[Emanuel]

Oh, did it bring some damage?!

"We apologize for any inconvenience caused..."

LOL : )

 

That said, that Viltrox 85mm f/1.8 is a gem anyway : -)

[newfoundmass]

Honestly if Fuji could get their stabilization to Panasonic level, fix the stepping exposure, and have unlimited recording they'd be a really compelling option for my work. I love the image so much from everything I'm seeing. I like their colors more than Canon. 

[thebrothersthre3]

Seeing as I don't use the Xpro3 I'll probably be buying all of the Viltrox Primes. 

[neosushi]

I see a lot of mixed feelings on this thread, and that may be because this community is very demanding, in a good way

I would think that's because many of us owned THE NX1, which was so much ahead of it's time. Now that being said, I just got my XT4 a couple of days ago with a 16-55 2.8., and it's my first XT4 camera so keep that in mind while reading my first review so far. Also I'm a 70% video oriented 30% stills.
Also I have zero brand loyalty. I don't care about brands at all. If tomorrow Sony has the camera and lenses that suits my needs better I'll sell everything and jump ships. Just to give you a bit of context

I should also add that I own a Z6 and I find that it's an amazing camera with amazing (too few) lenses.

So far this is how I feel about the XT4 :

Ergonomics : It's a beautiful camera ! However I don't like the ergonomics to be honest. I think the camera feels bulky, it's like handling a brick. I'm still working to get the most practical set up and it feels like a lot can be customized in terms of buttons. So I'm pretty sure that I could get used to after a couple of weeks toying around. Now that being said, it doesn't compare in any way with the pleasure of holding the Z6. There are so many buttons in the back, and to me it feels like those big buttons on top of the Fuji that give the "vintage look" could also turn out to be useless and maybe in the way of better ergonomics. I don't know how much this participates in the Fuji identity, but to me it's more of a waste. Again, I'm not a "Fuji" shooter, just a filmmaker with a Fuji camera in his hands
I love how they have 2 different modes for stills / movies. I would think that this is now a norm in 2020 but kudos to Fuji to bring that to their camera, feels like they really listen to their user base.

Autofocus : I need more to get around all the AF settings but so far in terms of Face/eye tracking to me the AF lacks a lot behind Sony, AND Nikon (Nikon made a great job at improving the AF in the past months. I used it a lot during interviews and it was flawless in eye Af). 
Now that being said, the AF in stills, is incredibly snap and fast. But I don't think I could trust it for a documentary yet where I would have to run around a subject. I would trust Nikon AF, it's not as good as Sony or Canon, but I feel confident enough. Probably because it never "hunts" even when it loses its subject, it doesn't. So far I felt that the XT4 could hunt in eye tracking and actually even lose focus when the box for the eye was correctly placed ! So I need to dig more into this, but it feels strange. Again the box would lock the eye, but still focus on something else... 
I give the camera the benefit of the doubt because I haven't played around enough with all the settings yet, and also I feel like Fuji could bring an update on the AF firmware wise.

Video modes : what is there to say ? Internal 4k 10bit with F-log AND assist (Rec 709 lut) with no crop, 60p with a very small crop, 240fps in Full HD. However I haven't been able to find the 120fps mode, so I don't know if you have to make a special setting or what not...

Dynamic Range : That was one of my primary concern, and I feel like it's actually great. However the different picture profiles for video are IMHO way too contrasty and make everything looks like it was shot on a cheap smartphone (highlights are completely burnt etc). I'm going to film everything in Flog probably, and just apply a standard lut after wise.

Skin tones : Now that is something so important for filmmaker. I love how the Z6 has this very smooth skin tones. A bit too magenta, I keep dialing in some more green tones (especially when using Filmconvert). But skin tones feel very silky-smooth with the Z6 while still retaining some details. I'm not sure how much I love the skin tones from the XT4 in F-log, I would need a bit more time, but just the fact that its 10bit gives you more leeway for grading. For now I'd say that it lacks a bit of saturation. I have this feeling that many videos I have seen with the XT3/XT4 have very pale skin tones and lack a bit of contrast and texture. Now again that is more of an intuition so far. I have a strong feeling that if correctly graded this camera can deliver.
I can't wait to experiment with my clients to see how this goes (hopefully well !).

Stills : I haven't play much with still but the AF seemed very responsive, very fast, trustworthy. And you can tweak the Burt modes a lot.  

Battery life : seems really good ! I heard the XT3 had a weakness in this area, I can say that I wouldn't be afraid of using just one battery for a short interview job. But of course you always need at least two. They should have included a charger for the battery. That feels cheap. My Z6 had one.

IBIS : It's REALLY, REALLY GOOD. 90% of the time. And then sometimes it does something a bit weird. I would say, don't take IBIS for granted, rather lear how it works and use it to your advantage. It was never designed to replace a gimbal. However I could definitely see myself going around filming in the city without a tripod  And that is really COOL !

Flip screen : don't like it. I'd rather have the classic tilt camera. I couldn't see why Vloggers would need such a powerhouse camera to film themselves, not judging it's really just a thought. Fuji : you guys should dedicate the camera to "power users". Don't try to go in all the different directions. I'm only speaking for myself but I'm not a big fan of filming while looking outside of the axis of my camera. I don't want to look on the side it bring my balance off. I don't know if the floppy screen is something people have been asking ? But to me it's a downside. I don't know how you guys feel about it.

Overall : So far it's a great first impression. It's really funny to see a vintage looking camera actually performing like a monster. 10 bit 4K 60p F-log + assist almost no crop... That is insane.
I'm not a big fan of the handling of this brick, but I can't see why I couldn't find a sleeve, handle to make it more to my taste. I also read that this is already improved since XT3, so keep up the improvements Fuji
Also I love how this camera eats my 128GB Sandisk 95Mb/s with 4K @ 400mbps. That is really cool.

If Nikon comes up with a Z6 Mark 2 10bit 4K internal, will I keep my Fuji ? I honestly don't know, probably not. But the camera market is not about "what if", but "what is". So for now I'm very, very happy that I can be a hybrid shooter with IBIS, and 4K 10bit 1,5x crop factor. 

That's it for me  sorry for making this way too long ^^ 
 

[Andrew Reid]

1 hour ago, neosushi said:

I see a lot of mixed feelings on this thread, and that may be because this community is very demanding, in a good way

I would think that's because many of us owned THE NX1

So very true

Still sets a high bar nearly 6 years later. Especially with the high bitrate hack.

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which was so much ahead of it's time. Now that being said, I just got my XT4 a couple of days ago with a 16-55 2.8

That is a very good lens by the way, incredibly sharp for a zoom. Fuji's lenses are fantastic, however the Samsung version of that zoom was a stop faster at the wide end and had OIS.

I notice the X-T4 IBIS has a mode which combines OIS and sensor stabilisation BTW.

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I should also add that I own a Z6 and I find that it's an amazing camera with amazing (too few) lenses.

You should try the Fringer EF mount adapter for the Z6. The AF is like dual pixel AF. Works much more reliably than the Techart e-mount adapter did.

The Z6 remains a very underrated tool.

I think the problem is that almost all the competition is more interesting in one way or another and the body design make it look like a cheap Nikon 1 series thing.

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So far this is how I feel about the XT4 :

Ergonomics : It's a beautiful camera ! However I don't like the ergonomics to be honest.

Yeah, I'm not warming to the feel of it either. X-Pro 3 and X-H1 far nicer and pro-feeling. The whole thing is covered in soulless, thin, faux leather. The way that fake leather covers the entire back of the LCD when it's closed - UGH. What were the thinking. X-T4, for want of a better word just feels a bit cheap? A bit clinical? Not as fun? Yet it has all the right features in the right place... Just played at a slightly tinny tone.

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I think the camera feels bulky, it's like handling a brick. I'm still working to get the most practical set up and it feels like a lot can be customized in terms of buttons. So I'm pretty sure that I could get used to after a couple of weeks toying around.

I feel it will improve with a nice cage and wooden grip like SmalRig offers for certain cameras, such as the Sigma Fp.

The shallow grip is woeful on the X-T4.

The buttons feel no better than an X-T200. It's a bit of a shame, because the flip out screen, EVF, and new movie / stills switch are all good handling features.

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Now that being said, it doesn't compare in any way with the pleasure of holding the Z6. There are so many buttons in the back, and to me it feels like those big buttons on top of the Fuji that give the "vintage look" could also turn out to be useless and maybe in the way of better ergonomics.

The X-H1 dialled down (no pun intended) the retro stuff and got it right. Why the X-T4 simply didn't just adopt the X-H1 body I have no idea. There doesn't need to be two lines at the moment.

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I don't know how much this participates in the Fuji identity, but to me it's more of a waste. Again, I'm not a "Fuji" shooter, just a filmmaker with a Fuji camera in his hands

The one thing I DO like about the shutter dial is it's quick to go from 180 degree shutter to auto. I have 1/50 on T, Bulb uses minimum shutter speed in low light for video, and A is effectively an aperture priority mode for me.

The ISO dial doesn't do it for me. Would rather have it on a jog wheel like normal.

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Autofocus : I need more to get around all the AF settings but so far in terms of Face/eye tracking to me the AF lacks a lot behind Sony, AND Nikon (Nikon made a great job at improving the AF in the past months. I used it a lot during interviews and it was flawless in eye Af)

I find it depends a lot on the lens. Some of Fuji's best lenses like the 23mm F1.4 have old fashioned grinding motors and moving barrels during AF. They are extremely loud for video shooting and slower than the internal focussing lenses like the zooms.

Fuji needs to update their primes and it was a stupid decision in the first place to put such old AF tech in the lenses.

On the camera body side I feel the AF is fundamentally good but still not as reliable as it should be for video.

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Video modes : what is there to say ? Internal 4k 10bit with F-log AND assist (Rec 709 lut) with no crop, 60p with a very small crop, 240fps in Full HD. However I haven't been able to find the 120fps mode, so I don't know if you have to make a special setting or what not...

I also like the Micro Four Thirds 1.95x crop mode at ALL resolutions and frame rates 

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Dynamic Range : That was one of my primary concern, and I feel like it's actually great. However the different picture profiles for video are IMHO way too contrasty and make everything looks like it was shot on a cheap smartphone (highlights are completely burnt etc). I'm going to film everything in Flog probably, and just apply a standard lut after wise.

F-LOG is great for maximum dynamic range, at least 12-stops by eye, and the view assist works well too although could use a contrast adjustment slider.

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Flip screen : don't like it. I'd rather have the classic tilt camera. I couldn't see why Vloggers would need such a powerhouse camera to film themselves, not judging it's really just a thought. Fuji : you guys should dedicate the camera to "power users".

It does take longer to open out than a tilt screen, but it's horses for corses...pros and cons. The GH2 had one. I loved it, never had a problem with it.

The finger hole to undock it and the mechanism is a bit too stiff and fiddly on the X-T4 though.

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Don't try to go in all the different directions. I'm only speaking for myself but I'm not a big fan of filming while looking outside of the axis of my camera. I don't want to look on the side it bring my balance off. I don't know if the floppy screen is something people have been asking ? But to me it's a downside. I don't know how you guys feel about it.

Overall : So far it's a great first impression. It's really funny to see a vintage looking camera actually performing like a monster. 10 bit 4K 60p F-log + assist almost no crop... That is insane.
I'm not a big fan of the handling of this brick, but I can't see why I couldn't find a sleeve, handle to make it more to my taste. I also read that this is already improved since XT3, so keep up the improvements Fuji
Also I love how this camera eats my 128GB Sandisk 95Mb/s with 4K @ 400mbps. That is really cool.

If Nikon comes up with a Z6 Mark 2 10bit 4K internal, will I keep my Fuji ? I honestly don't know, probably not. But the camera market is not about "what if", but "what is". So for now I'm very, very happy that I can be a hybrid shooter with IBIS, and 4K 10bit 1,5x crop factor.

The Nikon Z6 I think is a bit of a Canon EOS R6 type camera, if that is how we expect it to turn out - not quite a 1D X III with RAW and 5.5K but 4K at normal frame rates, a good all rounder, with good colour and decent AF with EF lenses (Fringer adapter).

I feel the X-T4 neither has the nimbleness or fun of an NX1, but it doesn't lack for features that's for sure.

It feels like Fuji has one set of designers on X-H1 / GFX 100 and another set on X-T series. One side is designing pro cameras, the other side is a bunch of hipsters with their retro ISO dials and should be fired.

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

2 hours ago, neosushi said:

Flip screen : don't like it. I'd rather have the classic tilt camera. I couldn't see why Vloggers would need such a powerhouse camera to film themselves, not judging it's really just a thought. Fuji : you guys should dedicate the camera to "power users". Don't try to go in all the different directions. I'm only speaking for myself but I'm not a big fan of filming while looking outside of the axis of my camera. I don't want to look on the side it bring my balance off. I don't know if the floppy screen is something people have been asking ? But to me it's a downside. I don't know how you guys feel about it.

 

Fuji already had the perfect solution for the screen in the XT-100 - tilt and flip mechanism (the Panasonic S1H have an improved approach), and ditched it.